The first win is always exhilarating. Coming up from behind with that out-of-nowhere knock out is one of the greatest feelings ever. The look of disappointment on the opponents face makes the victory all the sweeter. But this is only the first round; it’s way too early to get cocky.

I’m not much of a competitive gamer. I have always preferred the comfort of my own bedroom to the loud crowd of an event hall. That doesn’t always stop me from venturing out from my dark little “cave” to get my fix. Soul Calibur has always been my specialty, specifically Soul Calibur 3 and 4. I never played in anything big, usually just a small tournament with a group of friends with gloating rights for prizes. In 2010, I attended Anime Iowa in Coralville, IA with my college anime club. While there, I was able to partake in a Soul Calibur 4 tournament. I didn’t win, but the rounds I did were some of the most heart racing fights I have ever had.

Playing video games for competition has been around for nearly as long as video games themselves. The first of which was the Space Invaders Competition held by Atari in 1980. Since then, competitive gaming has evolved into a worldwide phenomenon.

Soul Calibur barely scratches the surface of what can pass for a competitive game these days. Any type of game can be turned into tournament fodder. Ranging from the burning rubber of racing games like Go Speed and Mario Kart 64, to the heart-stopping shooters of Halo and Counter Strike, to fast-paced real-time-strategy games of DOTA and Star Craft 2. They come in many shapes and can be played nearly anywhere.

Just this last October, I had the opportunity to work with EPX Studios at the University of Iowa to put on a gaming competition. We had five simultaneous tournaments for Halo: Reach, Marvel Vs Capcom, Super Smash Brothers Brawl, League of Legends, and FIFA. We spent several months putting this thing together, had more set backs then what we thought was possible, and in the end we were able to pull together something we could be proud of. People showed up, the tournaments went smoothly, and nobody got hurt in the process. With the first EPX Arena completed, we wasted no time planning out the details for round two.

When I started working with EPX Studios, I was still a little wet behind the ears when it came to competitive gaming. I’ve been told about how big these tournaments can get and I know there are people who take these competitions seriously, but I was still lax on the details.

While working out the details for the tournament, I got to know this guy named Rayce Ebenson, an electronic engineer major. While talking with him I have come learn that he is the lead organizer for the University of Iowa’s DOTA and Star Craft 2 teams, for which he plays.

Both Star Craft 2: Wings of liberty and DOTA are real-time-strategy games. Blizzard Entertainment released star Craft 2 on July 27, 2010 for Microsoft Windows and OS X. In the game, players command units of solders, weapons and vehicles to complete missions.

DOTA, or Defense of the Ancients, is a multiplayer online battle arena mod for Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos, which was released in 2002. In DOTA, players control groups of heroes, which are used to take out their opponent’s Ancients, heavily guarded structures found in opposing corners of the map. At the beginning of each round, players start at level one and level up during the match, buying weapons and upgrades along the way. The game runs on Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, and Mac OS X. A stand-alone sequel for DOTA is currently in the works.

“We started up the Star Craft league two years ago and the DOTA league is new this year.” Ebenson said in an Interview”

His Star Craft team plays in the Star Craft Collegiate League, where his team has gone 5-0 so far in their division. Ebenson says that they have had it pretty easy so far this season and expects to face some much more difficult opponents in the semi-finals. His team’s goal is to do better then last year and to at least make it further then the semi-finals.

“Last year we placed second in our division in Star Craft, our division was like ten teams.” Ebenson said,” We made it to the play offs and got to the second round where we lost. That was like the top 32 teams in the nation, could have been top 64 I’m not sure.”

Matches are played all online, no traveling required. Because Star Craft 2 isn’t designed for team matches, games are played best of five. Each member of the team plays in a 1-vs-1 game with the team who has the most wins out of five as victor.

Those who make it through the first few rounds and finish first in their regional semi-finals go on to play in the championships, which was held in California. Last year, the team that came out on top won a cash prize of $20.000. This year, Ebenson says the cash prize will be $40,000.

On top of the collegiate league, his Star Craft team plays in the Star Craft LAN (local area network) tournaments. These competitions require players to travel to specific areas and allow any college teams to join, even if they haven’t registered their team in Star Craft Collegiate League. Last year, Ebenson’s team traveled to Minnesota for the Mid-Western LAN tournament.

DOTA, being a completely brand new league, is going to be a just-for-fun tournament this time around. As the game picks up steam and gathers sponsors, the DOTA league will also be able to support a cash prize